STORY: Exploring knitting industry in China's Qingshanhu District
SHOOTING TIME: Jan. 18, 2024
DATELINE: Jan. 24, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:22
LOCATION: NANCHANG, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP 1 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
2. STANDUP 2 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHAI HAIYAN, Worker, Nanchang Zhongtuo Clothing Co., Ltd.
4. STANDUP 3 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): QIU ZHENGXIONG, Manager, Nanchang Zhongtuo Clothing Co., Ltd.
6. STANDUP 4 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent

STORYLINE:

STANDUP 1 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"In this place in east China, there is a saying that 'in three T-shirts exported from China, one is from Qingshanhu.' The Qingshanhu District, which is in Nanchang City in Jiangxi Province, is the country's fourth-largest industrial base for knitted garments, and has more than 2,000 knitting enterprises of various types."

In this company, 21 production lines are running. The company is rushing to make a batch of orders for high-end yoga clothes signed at an exhibition in the United States. 2024 has just started, but the company's overseas orders have already been lined up to June.

STANDUP 2 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"So, let's go back to the beginning of the story. How did the knitting enterprises in Chinese towns and villages go abroad and get their orders?"

In the early 1990s, almost every village in Qingshanhu had small knitting workshops, and almost everyone had that technique. These individual workshops were small, but represented the first brave step of entrepreneurship of local suburban farmers. After years, small enterprises expanded and gradually began exporting clothing.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): ZHAI HAIYAN, Worker, Nanchang Zhongtuo Clothing Co., Ltd.
"I had been working in coastal areas. Then I started to work at this factory in 2016. It has been 7 years. The reason I came back is that I can work closer to home. And it's also easier to take care of my children. The factory has undergone great changes. When I first came here, it had only one branch. Now several more branches have been opened." 

STANDUP 3 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"In recent years, local enterprises have gone overseas in groups, attending exhibitions, visiting customers and negotiating for cooperation. Entrepreneurs depart with their bags stuffed with fabric samples of different materials, and return with orders."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): QIU ZHENGXIONG, Manager, Nanchang Zhongtuo Clothing Co., Ltd.
"Going overseas is not only about grabbing more orders. More importantly, we can establish contact with global buyers to understand the market demand and development trends. In the past three years, we have invested nearly 20 million yuan (about 2.79 million U.S. dollars) to build a "5G+ smart factory" to promote automation, digitalization, and the application of intelligent knitting equipment. The company's production capacity increased by more than 30%. The qualification rate of high-end clothing rose from 50% to 90%. The company has become more competitive."

The knitting enterprises in Qingshanhu have been promoting the application of intelligent equipment and new technologies such as the Internet of Things and 5G. The once small, scattered, and weak industry is becoming high-end, large-scale, and strong.

STANDUP 4 (English): SHU CHANG, Xinhua correspondent
"At present, the scale of the local knitting industry has exceeded 50 billion yuan (about 6.89 billion U.S. dollars), with more than 5,000 sets of intelligent digital control equipment like this."

Now, local enterprises have gradually developed and established their own brands. Manufacturing has been more and more intelligent, and the market has been more and more diversified. We are witnessing a profound transformation of local and grassroots enterprises in China.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanchang, China.
(XHTV)